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Central Gear
“The Uncontrollable Engine” Central Gear is a boss in Blaster Master Zero, appearing as the mutant boss of Area 3. Physical Appearance Central Gear resembles a blue-gray, eight-cogged gear, albeit with one cog missing; this missing cog serves to give Central Gear a mouth area. The gear has purple veins reaching out to the cogs, holding a single red eye, with a vertical slit pupil, in the center. During its attacks, Central Gear’s mouth will extend, showing rows of spiky, orange teeth. General Information Central Gear appears as the mutant boss of the Industrial Area. Inside its arena is the Hover Pack, which allows SOPHIA III to use energy in order to ascend. However, after picking up the Hover Pack, Central Gear traps the player in the room, with defeating it being the only way out. Its battle is specifically designed with the Hover Pack in mind, and is the first boss battle in the game where the player fights in the tank instead of on foot. Attacks While not an attack, Central Gear can change the platforms the player can use during the battle. There are 21 total potential platforms, split evenly among three rows, that Central Gear can manipulate; usable platforms are orange, while platforms in the background appear green. Central Gear has six possible positions it can be in: top, middle, or bottom, as well as left or right. When in the middle, it can perform one of two attacks. It can shoot eight purple energy balls, each separated by 22.5°, in a half-circle rotation; the fourth energy ball will be shot horizontally, and the eighth energy ball will be shot straight down. The other attack it can perform is producing four gears from its mouth. These gears will reappear at the opposite side of the arena, where each can then travel down one of four rows; more gears usually enter the row the player is at. When Central Gear is at the bottom, it can gather electricity in its mouth and shoot out a purple laser, during which it performs a 90° sweep upward; it is initially angled 45° below the horizon so as to be able to hit anyone on the floor, so the laser only actually reaches 45° above the horizon. Central gear can also perform this attack when in the top position, aiming upward before sweeping down, but Central Gear will also drop to the middle position while performing the sweep. At any position, Central Gear can start spinning around while generating electricity; after two complete spins, once it aligns with the player, it will shoot out a bolt of electricity, rotate, and then shoot another when it aligns with the player again. Platform Configurations Central Gear’s manipulation of the platforms is a main part of the fight, and can sometimes leave the player at a disadvantage. There are four configurations: *Three platforms in the middle of the middle row, two platforms at the left and right ends of the top and bottom rows; this one is always used at the start of the fight. *One platform in the middle of the middle row, one platform at the left and right ends of the top row. *One platform in the middle of the top row, two platforms at the left and right ends of the bottom row. *Seven platforms in the top and middle rows. Strategy The only way to damage Central Gear is by attacking its eye; the actual gear is immune to all attacks. Usually this involves shooting into Central Gear’s mouth to hit the eye, however, SOPHIA III can use Warhead Missiles, Homing Missiles, and Laser Shots to bypass its protection, albeit with the former two using up SP. It is generally best to be in the middle row of platforms when possible, as the middle is Central Gear’s most common position. When performing its energy ball attack, the player can either simply choose to jump over the fourth shot and fire Warhead Missiles and Laser Shots, or can move to the ground and wait for Central Gear to finish shooting, after which the player can aim directly upward and release Crusher Shots into its mouth to hit the eye. When performing its gear attack, the player can simply turn around and shoot down any approaching gears. When performing its laser sweep, the player simply has to avoid it if coming from the bottom; if coming from the top, the player can either get underneath Central Gear and use Warhead Missiles and Laser Shots, or can try to get in a position near where the laser sweep will end and aim diagonally into its mouth. When performing its lightning bolt attack, it is best to be in a position that is either directly horizontal or at a 45° angle below Central Gear; the player can simply jump over the bolt of electricity once it’s fired, and after the second shot, it is left vulnerable for the player to attack. Central Gear does not have a predictable pattern, and thus, there is no particular way to beat it in a consistent manner. In “ideal” conditions, it can be defeated in less than 30 seconds; otherwise, the battle can usually be completed in less than a minute. Destroyer Mode The strategy remains almost unchanged, as the battle itself is no different, except that Central Gear has more health, and deals more damage. Due to the lack of Life Ups, the player is capped at 8 health instead of the maximum 10 at this point; the Homing Missile and Laser Shot are also not available, meaning the player will simply have to use Warhead Missiles to deal extra damage when there isn’t a good opening to shoot into Central Gear’s mouth. Damage The following list shows how many shots it takes from each Main Weapon and Sub-weapon to defeat Central Gear. *Crusher Shot: 40 *Laser Shot: 40 *Maximum Shot: untested *Cannon Shot: untested *Acceleration Blast: untested *Warhead Missiles: 30 *Thunder Breaker: 24 *Homing Missile: 35 *Spark Tackle: untested *Shield Mine: untested Trivia *Despite being a boss, the player usually cannot fight the second mid-boss, Photophage, until afterward, as reaching Photophage’s dungeon usually requires using the Hover Pack; however, EX Characters are capable of making it over without the Hover Pack, serving as a minor sequence break. If this is performed, Central Gear becomes optional in terms of progressing through most of the game; however, as all items need to be obtained to reach Area 9, skipping Central Gear will result in obtaining the bad ending. Category:Bosses Category:Blaster Master Zero Category:BMZ Bosses Category:Robotic Mutants